MPUMALANGA’s education department has rejected claims by the DA that school sanitation in the province is a problem and that government uses the plight of disadvantaged pupils as a corruption platform.
This came to light after the DA wrote to the Public Protector requesting an investigation into the awarding of school sanitation tenders by the department.
The party claims the department will be paying as much as R68 000 per toilet through the Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust in some schools.
Speaking to Daily Sun, DA leader in the province Jane Sithole said the department recently appointed the Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust to build waterborne toilets at a cost of R3,4 million. She said 16 toilets were built at Mpumelelo Primary School and another 16 at Sihlangu Primary School, while a further 18 toilets were built at JB Khoza Primary School in Bushbuckridge.
“During an oversight inspection at Mpumelelo and Sihlangu, we found that the plastic fittings that were used were unlikely to withstand daily use by hundreds of pupils,” said Sithole.
She further stated that the urinals installed in the toilets were small and unlikely to have cost the service provider anything close to the department’s R68 000.
Spokesman for the department Jasper Zwane said: “The department followed a cost-effective model by using the Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust, as they are not doing it for profit but to provide experiential training to their students.”